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Friday, June 22, 2007

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, left, and South Korea’s Foreign Minister Song Min-soon pose for the media prior to their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 22, 2007. Hill said Friday that North Korea is prepared to promptly carry out a pledge to shut down its main nuclear reactor, but warned that the country’s complete denuclearization will not be easy.

Pyongyang and Washington have agreed on a three-week timeframe for shutting down the North’s plutonium-producing reactor, a top U.S. nuclear envoy said Saturday.

Christopher Hill — the chief U.S. negotiator at international talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs — said in response to reporters’ questions on arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport that they were looking at “a three-week timeframe … starting Friday” for shutting down the Yongbyon reactor.

Hill arrived in Tokyo Saturday to brief his Japanese counterpart on the outcome of his two-day surprise trip to the North Korean capital.

Good news but the Unites States must push ahead.

Trust But Verify.

Stay tuned……

A satellite image from DigitalGlobe taken on January 5, 2006 shows the Yongbyon nuclear reactor in North Korea.